iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Today's #WIPSnips #tentacle sees Charlie on her first day at work in the restaurant. No on told her the diners were monsters! Ahhh! #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Writing #WritingPrompts

The problem with either decision, though, was the difficulty of escaping all the monsters. She hid behind a pillar and tried decide which option was best.
Servers scurried about the dining room. They stood at tables and took orders as if nothing were amiss, even though the monsters didn’t speak at all. One fellow even spoke to them about wine pairings. Idly, Charlie wondered what wine would pair best with her, should one of these monsters get its hands, claws, or tentacles on her.

0141

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Today's #WIPSnips #table shows a battle between a kitchen manager with a hero complex against a malevolent spirit taking the form of a giant mantis. #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts

Luka and the mantis began to circle one another. As they did so, the mantis knocked salt and pepper shakers from the tables and chittered maniacally.
“At least it’s a weak one,” one of the dwarf brothers said. Joren or Yoren. You couldn’t blame anyone for getting them mixed up.
“Glory!” Luka shouted. He flung himself at the mantis, knocked aside one of its scythes with his trusty spatula, and drove his chef’s knife into the insect’s heart, killing it instantly.
At least, that was Charlie’s expectation. But when the knife came out, it was clean. The mantis laughed and flung the KM aside. Then it was on him in a scene eerily reminiscent of what Charlie observed with the garbage phoenix just a few hours ago. He held back the mantis’s scythes with spatula and knife, and fended off its searching mandibles by thrusting his feet upwards, against its thorax.

0151

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Today's #WIPSnips #canvas I have for you a paint of an owl, who is also a wizard's familiar. Why do owls always suggest mouse parts for potion ingredients...? #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing

Upon the wall behind Aremento’s desk hung a painting of black owl. Its eyes took up half the canvas, as if it were attempting to poke lean forward and out of the frame. Unlike the realistic oil paintings in the dining room, the owl was done with watercolors and looked like something a four-year-old might have created. “No,” it hooted. “Eye of worm will make it explode.”
Aremento tugged on his beard. “Then what do you propose?”
“Easy,” said the owl. “Heart of mouse.”
“You always suggest that.”
“It always works.”

0172

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Me (an introvert) hanging out with a group of people: Me: Says something funny, but only one friend hears me. Friend: Proceeds to repeat funny thing. Group: Laughs at hilarity. Me: Waits patiently to be given credit for funny thing. Group: Moves on with the conversation.

000

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Surprised I have to use vibes for today's #WIPSnips #low. But anyway, here's a giant, interdimensional worm who lives in a restaurant's walk-in refrigerator. #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing

Charlie turned to find the cause of the sound. She’d hoped it was one of the fans breaking down or something. Instead, her eyes locked with those of a giant worm.
She barely had time to remember back to biology class, during which they’d studied earthworms. They didn’t have eyes. This one had enormous eyes. Not just black dots like you’d expect in a drawing; they were complete with sclera, blue irises, and pupils. Below its gaping, toothless mouth was a nametag: “Hello! My name is Kyle.”
Charlie abandoned her parsnips and ran.

0152

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Happy (belated) New Year, #WIPSnips and #WritingCommunty friends! Had a nice #writing and #WriteSky break over the holidays, but now I'm ready to get back to it!

Charlie put a hand over her own mouth. Jelly was gone? Truly gone? She hadn’t seen the dog until last night, though Charlie didn’t think anything of it. Miss Lucy didn’t bring Jelly to camp last summer until they’d begun auditions for the play. “I brought peanut butter for her,” Charlie whispered.
Miss Lucy walked out of the cafeteria without another word, wiping tears from her face as she went. Charlie did the same, heading for the other door. At least no one would remember she’d made Miss Lucy cry.
The curse was beneficial in that way, at least.

0112

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

When the restaurant's fancy dishwashing machine doesn't work, it becomes a surface for dirty dishes. #WIPSnips #silver #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing

The machine was named Hogarth after the scientist who’d designed it.
Hogarth was silent and still. Any of the machine’s surfaces that were flat enough to balance something were laden with dirty dishes. Against the adjacent wall was a three-bay sink, at which two dwarven brothers, Yoren and Joren, stood. Over the din of splashing water, clinking silverware, and slamming pans, they yelled at one another in a language Charlie had never heard of. (It was a lost dwarven language that only they, being former dwarf princes, knew.)

0151

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Thought I'd share with the #writingcommunity and #writesky how I'm keeping myself motivated to write the current WIP. Green = Way to go! Yellow = meh. Red = shame. Tuesdays seem to be my toughest days so far. Would love to see what systems others use!

An excel document showing a table of dates, words written on those dates, and whether or not the daily goal was met

010

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

#WIPSnips vibes for #request. In salary negotiation, Charlie's holding out for a hero 🙃 #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing

“Okay. But we never discussed my salary,” Charlie said.
This elicited a chuckle from the KM. “You’re an hourly employee. Standard beginning wage is eight bucks an hour. Time-and-a-half for overtime. Double pay on holidays.”
“No health insurance,” Plategleam grunted.
“Nor dental,” Spoonshine threw in.
“I don’t want any of that,” said Charlie.
Luka frowned. “We have to pay you. The Empress doesn’t allow people to work for free.”
“Then pay me by finding me a hero.”

0171

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

When you spend the day writing, then giddily tell a good buddy you banged out 2500 words, and they respond with a, "That's it?" When all you were trying to do was celebrate... #writingcommunity #writesky

media.tenor.com

a man in a red jacket eating a cake with a fork

ALT: a man in a red jacket eating a cake with a fork

010

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Had a dream in which the kid woke up at 3am and I'd forgotten to put presents under the tree. It ended up okay, though. Wife took her bowling while I corrected the error. So. This is a nightmare at 36... #Parenting

010

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Gramsay, god of restaurants and narrator of my current WIP, makes his first appearance for today's #WIPSnips #full. #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #Writing

“Your hand is on my cutting board,” I said.
She snatched her fingers away just before I diced them, along with the red onions currently at my mercy. “Sorry,” she sniffed. “And I’m not crying because I’m sad or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I know,” said I, rocking the knife with godlike speed and precision. “It’s because of my face.”
“No!” said Charlie. She wiped some snot on the back of a hand. If she’d had orientation, she’d have known to go and wash her hands right away. “It’s the onions.”
“Really?” I leaned over my assembled row of third pans, all full and heaping with perfectly diced red onions. “What did you say to this poor girl?” I asked them.
“It’s nothing they said. It’s how they smell.”
I gave her a horrified look and put my hands on the sides of the pans, as if covering their ears. “Don’t listen to her. You smell just as onions should, my darlings.”

1181

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

#WIPSnips vibes for #design today! Here we see the MC facing off against a garbage phoenix. #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPromprs #Writing

“Want it.” The phoenix nodded.
“Instead of eating me,” said Charlie. She pointed to Luka. “And him.”
“Eat you and plastic both. Give.”
Charlie looked to Luka, hoping for some sort of instruction, or for him to chime in and help her bargain. He was too busy keeping the phoenix’s boney wing from crushing his larynx. From the sweat beading on his forehead and the vein pulsing at his temple, the kitchen manager didn’t look in any position to offer instruction.
“Now,” snapped the phoenix. “Give. Hand over.”
Then Charlie did something smart. Not that she’d planned it or anything, but the result was the same. She tossed the plastic bottle into the air.

0162

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Woof. An ugly one for #WIPSnips #fourth today. *rocks back and forth in the chair, hugging self: "Trust the process...trust the process...trust the process..." #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing

As they made their way back through the kitchen, it became clear to Charlie that Luka was in charge. He tasted the contents of different pots and pans, remarking on their thickness or lack of salt. Here he inspected a cube of cheese and berated the person responsible for its cut size being closer to an eighth of an inch than the expected fourth. There he yelled at another worker for being five minutes behind where they should have on prep. Three different emergencies were brought to his attention in the time it took to walk from the back door to the dining room, and he resolved them all with a plan of action hatched on the spot.

0242

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

4yo requested Devo's "Whip It" on the way to preschool today... Just wanted to share. #parenting

010

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Just a short one for #WIPSnips today. Going with #dominant vibes. This draft is about as raw as it gets - only started it a week ago! #WritingCommunity #Writing #WriteSky #WritingPrompts

She might have noticed Ellie’s abnormal exhaustion. Typically, Charlie’s Curiosity would have piqued her into asking, but her other chief quality (and Curiosity’s nemesis), Absentmindedness, was at that moment in control. Next to Ellie, growing out of the overturned tree was the sure-fire way to get the part. “Dandelion!” Charlie exclaimed. She plucked it from the stump and held it aloft.

0171

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

When you recommend a book you love to your best friend and they read it, then proceed to rip it to shreds and tell you how much they hated it, making you question your taste as a reader and awareness as a writer... #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #BookSky

media.tenor.com

a man with his eyes closed says it 's fine , im fine , everything is fine

ALT: a man with his eyes closed says it 's fine , im fine , everything is fine

220

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Started draft 1 of the new novel today! This after trunking the series I'd been working on and failing at for the past 10 years...I ain't even scared. Feels good. #writing #writingcommunity #writesky

030

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Today's #WIPSnips from a short story about a story-serving restaurant called Cliche's. Let me know if you have any questions. #Special #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing

“But…The Special is a three-course meal. Are you sure you can pull it off on such short notice?”
“Easy as 1, 2, 3.” Chef knocked on a wooden cutting board.
“It’s too risky,” said Waiter. “What if you did two courses instead? Less is more.”
“I won’t make a long story short!” Chef pulled out her notepad and began scribbling out the meal plan, speaking aloud as she did so. “First, the appetizer: a fast-paced, steamy romantasy, in which a human heroine falls for her elflike oppressor. A real enemies-to-lovers story, sprinkled generously with some absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder.
“Next, the entrée: a slow-burning, epic trilogy about an orphaned thief who turns out to be the true heir to the throne. Swords! Sorcery! Dragons for some reason! We’ll glaze it with some calm-before-the-storm and finish it in the pan with a hint of all-hell-breaking-loose.
“Finally, for dessert: an amusing (if tiresome) and self-deprecating short work of satire, thick with clichés and references to overused fantasy tropes…which, itself, may not be wholly original, but sure seems that way to whoever came up with it. It’ll be a bit hard to swallow, so we’ll beat in some beating-a-dead-horse and add some proof-in-the-pudding and…voila!”

1204

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Remember when you could play solitaire on windows without having to watch ads for virtual slot games with excessive graphics?

020

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Another #WIPSnips from my short story about a support group for people with incredibly niche super powers. #Third #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts

“Let him go,” said Steven. “Cookie bribes are beneath us. We’ll be here when you’re ready to face your mediocrity, Lenny. Third Tuesday of every month. 7pm sharp.”
“I appreciate it,” Lenny said. He passed Steven’s mom at the top of the steps and took a couple cookies at her insistence, then let himself out the front door.
And there was the rabbit, sitting in the grass, scratching at its ear. So freakin’ cute! It sniffed the air and hopped into the arms of a man – hooded, and dressed all in black – who’d been kneeling behind a tree. The rabbit nuzzled against his ear, as if telling him a secret.
“Rabbit Randall?” Lenny asked.
“My associate tells me you’ve rejected The Super Pals’ weak offer.” He grinned wickedly. “Hand me one of Steven’s mom’s cookies, and we’ll find out just how many eggs you can scramble following the path of darkness.”
Lenny grinned back. “I’m in.” He gave Randall a cookie, then took a bite of another. “Wow. Jimmy wasn’t kidding about these cookies.”
Randall’s maniacal laughter filled the cul-de-sac.

1243

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Another #WIPSnips from a short story today. Going with vibes: #spend = pay. I'm hoping to start a new novel by next week. If all goes to plan, I can start snipping from a new source! #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #Writing

On the eve of the morrow, the king was set to marry an evil sorceress.
The nobles whispered amongst each other at the general wrongness of it. The peasants, being out of His Majesty’s earshot, grumbled more loudly (and quite specifically) about the new taxes levied upon them to pay for the wedding. And the horses ate hay, giving exactly zero whinnies about the whole business. Yet even they suspected some ensorcelling must have occurred in the time between the king’s quest to vanquish the sorceress and his engagement to her.
One thing they all agreed on? Having an evil sorceress as queen was likely to give everyone stomach ulcers.

0181

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

POV: You are a 3yo and your parents stashed your toy robot in the basement (because it's annoying as hell). #WIPSnips #Movement #WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt

I know I can pull it off, provided I avoid The Guardians.
The Guardians run this place. Their rules are arbitrary. Their moods, unpredictable. They think the rest of us are powerless. That our every movement needs monitoring.
I shiver to think what consequences await me, if I’m caught. The Guardians wouldn’t send me to The Basement. No, I’m too valuable to them. More likely, they’ll take their fury out on one of my friends; exile them to The Basement or worse. This threat usually quells my heart’s rebellious tendencies.
But not this time.
I can’t abandon Roby.
Won’t.

0231

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Let's try this again... Bit longer of a passage for today's #WIPSnips #Spell. Context was needed. #WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt

0222

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Outlining a novel from scratch is like making your own puzzle pieces and jamming them together until some sort of picture presents itself. Reading your first draft is like realizing that picture looks like a three-year-old's drawing of the Mona Lisa. #WritingCommunity #Writing #WriteSky

141

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

#WIPSnips vibes! #gradient = hill. Never underestimate the power of a haunting children's melody...nor the unexpected honk of a goose. #WritingCommunity #Writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt

Ever upward, I march. I’m tired. What if I’m hit with vertigo, then have to back away slowly from a bear, down a hill, while I’m too dizzy to see straight?
A children’s song plays in my head.
If you go into the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise
…because today’s the day
“I’ll be the teddy bears’ picnic,” I finish aloud. I don’t know all the words, clearly, but it’s a haunting melody at any rate.
A lone goose honks in the distance, startling me back into silence.

0232

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

#WIPSnips vibes. #Charge = cost. This was a fun little short story to write. Premise: a support group for people with niche and useless superpowers. MC: can fry a single egg per day. #Writingcommunity #writing #Writesky #WritingPrompt

“Then he went and started his own support group for people who wanted to increase their powers,” said Steven.
Lenny sat up a little straighter. “Is that possible?”
“Well, yeah, but at what cost?” Steven asked. “So, he can make a rabbit come sniff his finger now. So what?”
“What do you mean, ‘so what?’” Lenny laughed. “Don’t you want to deliver important secret messages, Steve? And Louise, what if you could make daisies smell like funions? And Jimmy, what if you could…uh…”
“Change the color of my freckles to look diseased and get out of taking finals?” Jimmy asked.

0212

Reposted by Michael Gattis

L.M. du Plessis 📚💙 ‪✨Writing TLC Sequel✨ @smoking-gnu.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Good Morning #SFpit! It's been a while since I took part in a pitch event, so here's my #agentsguide for #literaryagents. Presenting my #A #WIP that I guess is a #SSF with a small dash of #F to it. CAVERN CLIPPER (TREASURE PLANET X JOURNEY TO THE EARTH).

Background, Flying sail ships amids obscuring clouds.
presenting an Agents Guide to: Cavern Clipper.
Status: first draft complete at 117K words
Image Credit: “The Stormriders: Steampunk Pirates” by neko1206 on Deviantart.

Background, cavern lit up by bright orange-yellow light.
The Pitch: WHEN SAM DIES, HE AWAKENS IN A WORLD OF ENDLESS TUNNELS AND MASSIVE CAVERNS. JOINING A HUNTER CLIPPER CREW, HE GETS CAUGHT BETWEEN PIRATES AND A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER WHOSE URGENT MESSAGE COULD SAVE HUMANITY.

Background, massive square cavern in background with small forest and deer in foreground.
Comps: TREASURE PLANET X A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
Tropes and themes:
• TRANSMIGRATION (ISEKAI)
• AIRSHIPS
• PIRATES
• CAT AND MOUSE BATTLES
• A MESSAGE THAT MUST BE DELIVERED!

Background, Cavern with a skull face being watched by a woman.
Excerpt:
THE CLIFF FACE STRETCHED DOWN FOR KILOMETERS! HOUSES WERE BUILT INTO THE SIDE OF IT! WALKWAYS BUILT INTO THE CLIFF-SIDE ALLOWED WALKING ACCESS DOWN TO THE BUILDINGS, WITH PEOPLE ON THEM AS IF IT WAS THE MOST NORMAL THING TO DO!…
…HIS STOMACH TURNED AT THE SIGHT. HE STARTED BACKING UP WHEN A SHADOW PASSED OVER HIM, ANOTHER WONDERFUL, TERRIBLE SIGHT FLYING IN THE AIR FAR ABOVE HIM.
A SHIP. WITH SAILS, LIKE YOU’D SEE ON THE OCEAN, IN HISTORY BOOKS OR PIRATE MOVIES. FLYING!

2812

Michael Gattis @mgattis.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Every Maga's response to No Kings: "What a great success! It must have worked, because there are no kings!" Me, realizing there must have been lots of tea at the Tea Party protests:

media.tenor.com

a man wearing a hat that says hds is standing in front of a door

ALT: a man wearing a hat that says hds is standing in front of a door

020